In orthopedic surgery environment, there is a need for allowing full access to the operating area with total control at each step. Therefore, X-ray imaging using C-stands or G-stands comprising imaging systems is commonly used, wherein a C-stand only has one X-ray imaging device while a so-called G-stand comprises two such imaging devices, with their axes oriented at an angle to each other.
A symmetrical G-stand is generally preferable to a C-stand, since it comprises two perpendicularly mounted X-ray imaging devices, and is thereby able to provide both frontal and lateral X-ray imaging with fixed settings. The ability to simultaneously see the surgical area in both a frontal and lateral view reduces the need to move and adjust the equipment during surgery, thus reducing both surgery time and radiation dose. When the need to move the equipment is reduced, better sterility is also achieved.
The ability in a G-stand to double the surgeon's view also results in accurate positioning of implants, creating a safer and more reliable method of surgery. The X-ray devices are fixed in perpendicular relation to each other in the G-stand, but the entire G-stand can be tilted somewhat for better access and views. Or in some G-stand systems, the G-stand is somewhat rotatable about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the axes of both of the X-ray devices.